Film About June 1941 Deportations Opens

“Risttuules” (“In the Crosswind”), which takes an unusual "tableau vivant" approach to the painful subject of the 1941 mass deportations from Estonia, opens in cinemas across the country today.

The plot follows the fate of a family throughout their ordeals, starting with the June deportations of 1941 and ending in 1956. The story is based on real letters and life histories, and the filmmakers also met with several people who survived the deportations and collected their stories.

The film features 13 still scenes that all have impacted the fate of the protagonist Erna. The still scenes are carefully posed and theatrically lit, and through the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move.

Three years in the making and with original music by composer Pärt Uusberg, the majority of the film’s crew is made up of young filmmakers, including director and screenwriter Martti Helde.

Helde told the culture program OP! that the format of “living pictures” was chosen due to the delicacy of the subject matter and it is meant as an homage to the generation that was affected by the deportations.

“I can’t quite imagine a fast-edited live action deportation drama today,” Helde said. “I can, however, imagine a story with monumental visuals that would tell Estonia's tragic history in a more delicate way. It seemed fitting somehow.”

The director of cinematography Erik Põllumaa named Béla Tarr as one of his influences and added he was at times worried that the film would turn out “too beautiful” as it would not be suitable for the subject matter.

Helde and Uusberg told ETV's morning program on Wednesday that there are few people in Estonia unaffected by deportations, their own families included. Helde called teachers to bring students to see the film so that the young would take the time to talk about it with their grandparents and get to know the subject better.

Watch the English trailer here and a more recent trailer in Estonian here.

The nominees for the 59. Grammy Awards were published on Tuesday, and upon closer inspection the list included both better- and lesser-known Estonian names and involved an Estonian music label, a number of Estonian musical ensembles and works by an Estonian composer as well.

Weekly recommendations for cultural events taking place in Estonia this week as curated by and published in the Culture critics’ blog at culture.ee: "Places to be, things to do, exhibitions to enjoy, concerts to attend and dances to dance. Keep warm and take in all the great experiences!"

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Helina Koldek of culture.ee interviewed Yaniv Berman, director of 2016 Israeli film "Land of the Little People," one of the films featured in the 2016 program of Estonia's Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF).

Weekly recommendations for cultural events taking place in Estonia this week as curated by and published in the Culture critics’ blog at culture.ee. Here is a diverse and bold choice of events for the ongoing week. Open your minds and have a great time!

The 20th annual Black Nights Film Festival, better known by Estonian acronym PÖFF, is already in full swing, with a rich program of screenings at various locations in Tallinn and Tartu. As the number and variety of films on offer may be overwhelming for festivalgoers, Helina Koldek of culture.ee has shared her top ten picks for this year's edition of PÖFF.

The Riigikogu’s Cultural Affairs Committee on Monday supported a plan to renovate the stage of the Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn as well as the surrounding buildings. According to MP Laine Randjärv (Reform), who chairs the committee, construction could begin after the next Song Festival in 2019.

Weekly recommendations for cultural events taking place in Estonia this week as curated by and published in the Culture critics’ blog at culture.ee. November in Estonia is always associated with the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), but in addition to this wonderful event, there are plenty of others as well. Have a great week!

Weekly recommendations for cultural events taking place in Estonia this week as curated by and published in the Culture critics’ blog at culture.ee. We have a busy week ahead of us! In addition to the annual film festival PÖFF, there will also be another interesting film program, lots of stimulating music, a big fair and even an international poetry slam. Stay warm and enjoy!

On a journalist exchange in Estonia, Benno Schirrmeister of Bremen’s TAZ is highly informed, yet a blank slate as far as a foreigner’s experience of Estonia is concerned. In his first op-ed about Tallinn, he spots something beyond IT that Estonia could advertise — but doesn’t.

On Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, the Kristjan Randalu Trio played four concerts over two nights with American modern jazz guitarist Ben Monder, who has both released solo albums as well as been featured on hundreds of other albums, including David Bowie's final album "Blackstar"(2016).

Weekly recommendations for cultural events taking place in Estonia this week as curated by and published in the Culture critics’ blog at culture.ee. A great week lies ahead filled with interesting performances, dazzling dance acts and cinematography.

Estonian Art is an English-language art magazine published by the Estonian Institute since 1997; its 2016 issue, the launch for which will be celebrated at the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia in Tallinn on Friday night, focuses on art publishing in Estonia.

Weekly recommendations for cultural events taking place in Estonia this week as curated by and published in the Culture critics’ blog at culture.ee. This week’s picks once again feature some fascinating art, films and music. Enjoy and check out culture.ee for more!

The Eurimages Board of Management, which meets four times per year in different cities around Europe, is holding its 2016 fall meeting in Tallinn from Oct. 17-21, having brought with it over 50 top-level decision-makers to the Estonian capital.

The AFEKT International Contemporary Music Festival brings European composers to Estonian audiences for the 15th year running, along with "Multimedia Composition: Fine Arts and New Technologies," a dynamic and engaging two-day conference that will cross-reference works and composers from this year’s festival.

Weekly recommendations for cultural events taking place in Estonia this week as curated by and published in the Culture critics’ blog at culture.ee. This week offers fashion, lights, lots of music and even an improv festival. Sounds great!

Giulia (Liz Solari) lives and works in Rome and Paris. She’s in her thirties and has already had a successful career working for a top fashion magazine. Giulia is quite convinced she has everything she could ever wish for — until she meets Renzo (Raoul Bova).

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Eastern Rising in Ireland, a group of Estonian artists decided to make a piece of Irish culture the centre of their efforts this year. Their project, "The Cap and Bells", is the third great effort to bring the work of W. B. Yeats closer to an Estonian audience, and a voyage through Yeats' poetry as well as contemporary music, dance, and film.

Vallo Toomla’s debut film “Pretenders” tells the story of Anna (Mirtel Pohla) and Juhan (Priit Võigemast), who spend a holiday at the country house of their rich friends to mend their relationship. However, the situation is far from an intimate idyll and, as if this wasn’t enough, they take in a couple caught in a storm, who think they are the owners of the house.

Following a decision of the government, the minimum salary of employees in the culture sector that have a higher education degree will be raised to €942 in 2017. To compensate for the step, the Ministry of Culture will reallocate more than a million euros.

Weekly recommendations for cultural events taking place in Estonia this week as curated by and published in the Culture critics’ blog at culture.ee. This week will be filled with different sorts of music, art and great films.

Members of the Estonian Writers’ Union (EKL) issued a public statement in which they found that the wording of the section of the Penal Code on the production of child pornography, which led to the prosecution of author Kaur Kender, should be changed.

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The Museum of Estonian Architecture opened its “Where did all the euros go?” exhibition on Wednesday. It looks at the different projects funded with contributions by the European Union between 2006 and 2015.